Here I have taken an example of a film review from well-renowned Film magazine entitled 'Empire'. The piece of text reviews the cinematic release of recent musical block buster, 'Les Miserables'.
I have cross examined the review, focusing individually on each section below, allowing me to look in detail and the content and reasons behind it in the text.
By carrying out this close analysis, i hope i will learn more about the content which is suitable for a good quality magazine review. Not only will i learn more about this topic, but this may well inspire the style of my own Film Magazine Review and help to create more solid piece of material.
"Plot
Jean Valjean (Jackman), imprisoned for 19 years for a minor offence, is paroled but perpetually shadowed by Inspector Javert (Crowe). When he takes in the foundling daughter of the tragic Fantine (Hathaway), he finds a reason to keep his freedom."
An initial short paragraph/ sentence is given at the very beginning of the piece depicting the basic plotline of the film. This section is short, sweet and to the point – covering the basic knowledge the viewer should be aware of before seeing this film. However this brief outline remains ever so ambiguous, as not to give away too much information (which could deter the viewer from watching the film).
"Les Miserables opens big. The camera sweeps over gilded, bulbous warships, blasted by coastal waves, to the hundreds of miserable wretches inching one of these monsters into the Toulon dry dock on waterlogged ropes. This vast chain gang sings Look Down in a rumbling bass that’s close to a dirge, and the tone is set. This is not the sort of musical where people dance their cares away, but one where people’s cares seem to rip songs from their throats. Through all that follows, the moments of levity and romance as well as the suffering, Tom Hooper’s adaptation of Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg and Herbert Kretzmer’s juggernaut of a musical never fails to take its subject matter seriously, its raw, brutal edge in tune with Victor Hugo’s melodrama of the downtrodden and destitute."
The opening paragraph introduces the name of the film. This initial paragraph is filled with importance as it is the first section that the viewer will read. Depending on the quality of content, this is the section in which the viewer will continue or stop reading the review. In order to do this, the paragraph starts with the simple line, ‘Les Miserables’ opens big. The use of the word ‘big’ and the ambiguity of the line urge the reader to read on. ‘The camera’ and its angles/shots are introduced firstly, immediately throwing the reader into the movie, bringing it to life. This allows the audience to visually establish the setting and have more of an understanding of the film its self.
The review introduces the themes of music and romance which are both main themes of the movie. The review then uses powerful and emotive words such as ‘raw’ and ‘brutal’. This allows the reader to understand the deep, poignant atmosphere of the film.
The Director is then introduced, along with the three musical masterminds behind the original show. This allows an audience to instantly connect if they are fans of their works and the original play.
"Hugh Jackman, matching Jean Valjean’s fabled strength, carries the plot on his shoulders. Only he and Russell Crowe’s Javert remain constants through the 17 years of the film’s plot, and only Valjean really grows during that time, since Javert’s inflexibility is his defining trait."
This short section following the introduction to the film focuses on the two main characters and the importance of their relationship with one another. This sets the scene and narrative of the movie well and I can see our film’s review using a similar technique (as our two main character’s relationship is a vital aspect to the plot). The text uses the actor’s names, linking them to their given character – this background knowledge allows the audience to put a name to a face as it were, and understand the film even more so. This name dropping may also entice a whole new Audience, who are already fans of their past work and may want to see the film purely based on the fact that their favourite stars will appear in it.
"We first meet Valjean as a convict, making futile demands that his jailer respect him as a fellow human being — only to be rebuffed by the didactic Javert. On parole he meets only rejection and prejudice, descending into animal-like desperation and spitting bitterness before a miraculous second chance sees Valjean resolve to match the faith shown in him in the film’s most emotionally complex scene. Righteous fury rages with a rekindled sense of virtue; wounded pride and a thirst for justice compete with hope of redemption, and somehow from the conflagration a morally upright man emerges."
So far the outline of the film has only been introduced extremely briefly. This next section is placed centrally, building the narrative up slowly. This keeps the reader interested and eager to learn more about the narrative. As stated previously, it is important that when leaking more information about the plot as the review continues, it is important to only give the vital and basic facts of the story, making sure the contents of the film is not given away – spoiling the viewing experience.
Moving, passionate word choice describing the film (i.e. miraculous, emotionally complex, thirst, desperation, faith, righteous, pride etc.) creates excitement in the viewer and escalates the reader’s view of the film the quality of the film – by cleverly and subtly injecting the reviewers opinions into them. Obviously this word choice matches the themes of the film and would alter by genre, i.e. a review of a comedy film would use more comical or light hearted language as to speak to their target audience who are primarily, comedy fans.
"As with all the film’s high emotion, this is communicated entirely in song, sung live on set and with veins frequently popping from the effort. Hooper’s commitment to live performance no doubt added hugely to the stress of the shoot, but in return for a few wobbly high notes he gets a unique, visceral punch. The vocals aren’t as flawless as, say, Alfie Boe managed onstage — Jackman struggles with the famously difficult Bring Him Home, and at times Crowe wobbles into rock stylings — but the drama is stronger for it."
Drawing the idea of a narrative to a close, the review then moves onto different subject matter which are constant throughout the film, in this case, singing. It is important for this to be included as ‘Les Miserables’ its self is a well-known musical, the reader will most likely be looking for information about the musical aspect present. The passage includes comparisons of the actors to stage actors who originally played their role in the stage shows. This adds a sense of fluency between the original and the remake, which die-hard fans that have seen both will enjoy and find most enlightening. Comparisons may will the reader to see the film in order to create their own comparison and judgement. The review sticks not only to praising the film, but also introduces elements of which they were not pleased. Negative language such as ‘stress’, ‘wobbly’ and ‘difficult’. Opposing positive language such as ‘high emotion’, ‘unique’ and stronger contrast these views and help to create an equal balance between the good and bad points.
"When the students led by the idealistic Enjolras (Aaron Tveit) fight a hopeless uprising in the people’s name and Javert encounters Valjean once more. When these big moments arrive, the cast rise with full-throated determination and deliver a musical unlike any other."
As not to dwell on the negative aspects of the film (as the review has a majority of good things to say concerning the film), the final words are carefully placed to remind the viewer of the positive opinions the writer feels towards the movie. This technique in turn, could be used for the opposite views (reminding the audience of the negative aspects of the film).
"Verdict
occasionally, like its characters, ragged around the edges, this nevertheless rings with all the emotion and power of the source and provides a new model for the movie musical."
To sum up the entire review, a subheading, ‘verdict’ is followed by a short sentence giving an overall judgement of the film. This sentence is vital to the piece as it is the last cut of information that the viewer will read and remember.
"Reviewed by Helen O'Hara"
A row of bold stars known as the 'star rating' is given to the film. This is a quick visual way in which the reader can see the overall judgement of the film and is a vital factor to the piece – it is often based on the star rating as to whether the viewer will continue to read the piece, or even see the film in question.
